Marc Springer

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David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas consists of six stories set in various periods between 1850 and a time far into Earth's post-apocalyptic future. Each segment lives on its own the previous first person account picked up and read by a character in its successor creating connective tissue between each moment in time. The various stories remain intact for Tom Tykwer's (Run Lola Run) Lana Wachowski's and Andy Wachowski's (The Matrix) film adaptation which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The massive change comes from the interweaving of the book's parts into one three-hour saga — a move that elevates the material and transforms Cloud Atlas in to a work of epic proportions.
Don't be turned off by the runtime — Cloud Atlas moves at lightning pace as it cuts back and forth between its various threads: an American notary sailing the Pacific; a budding musician tasked with transcribing the hummings of an accomplished 1930's composer; a '70s-era investigatory journalist who uncovers a nefarious plot tied to the local nuclear power plant; a book publisher in 2012 who goes on the run from gangsters only to be incarcerated in a nursing home; Sonmi~451 a clone in Neo Seoul who takes on the oppressive government that enslaves her; and a primitive human from the future who teams with one of the few remaining technologically-advanced Earthlings in order to survive. Dense but so was the unfamiliar world of The Matrix. Cloud Atlas has more moving parts than the Wachowskis' seminal sci-fi flick but with additional ambition to boot. Every second is a sight to behold.
The members of the directing trio are known for their visual prowess but Cloud Atlas is a movie about juxtaposition. The art of editing is normally a seamless one — unless someone is really into the craft the cutting of a film is rarely a post-viewing talking point — but Cloud Atlas turns the editor into one of the cast members an obvious player who ties the film together with brilliant cross-cutting and overlapping dialogue. Timothy Cavendish the elderly publisher could be musing on his need to escape and the film will wander to the events of Sonmi~451 or the tortured music apprentice Robert Frobisher also feeling the impulse to run. The details of each world seep into one another but the real joy comes from watching each carefully selected scene fall into place. You never feel lost in Cloud Atlas even when Tykwer and the Wachowskis have infused three action sequences — a gritty car chase in the '70s a kinetic chase through Neo Seoul and a foot race through the forests of future millennia — into one extended set piece. This is a unified film with distinct parts echoing the themes of human interconnectivity.
The biggest treat is watching Cloud Atlas' ensemble tackle the diverse array of characters sprinkled into the stories. No film in recent memory has afforded a cast this type of opportunity yet another form of juxtaposition that wows. Within a few seconds Tom Hanks will go from near-neanderthal to British gangster to wily 19th century doctor. Halle Berry Hugh Grant Jim Sturgess Jim Broadbent Ben Whishaw Hugo Weaving and Susan Sarandon play the same game taking on roles of different sexes races and the like. (Weaving as an evil nurse returning to his Priscilla Queen of the Desert cross-dressing roots is mind-blowing.) The cast's dedication to inhabiting their roles on every level helps us quickly understand the worlds. We know it's Halle Berry behind the fair skinned wife of the lunatic composer but she's never playing Halle Berry. Even when the actors are playing variations on themselves they're glowing with the film's overall epic feel. Jim Broadbent's wickedly funny modern segment a Tykwer creation that packs a particularly German sense of humor is on a smaller scale than the rest of the film but the actor never dials it down. Every story character and scene in Cloud Atlas commits to a style. That diversity keeps the swirling maelstrom of a movie in check.
Cloud Atlas poses big questions without losing track of its human element the characters at the heart of each story. A slower moment or two may have helped the Wachowskis' and Tykwer's film to hit a powerful emotional chord but the finished product still proves mainstream movies can ask questions while laying over explosive action scenes. This year there won't be a bigger movie in terms of scope in terms of ideas and in terms of heart than Cloud Atlas.
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Top Story: Quirky Comedies Win Top WGA Honors
The quirky comedies Lost in Translation and American Splendor took top honors Saturday at the 56th annual Writers Guild of America Awards, which were doled out in simultaneous ceremonies at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Pierre Hotel in New York. The awards, handed out by Hollywood's screenwriters, honor outstanding achievement in writing for the screen, television and radio during the 2003 season. Lost in Translation, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, won original screenplay, while American Splendor, penned by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, took best-adapted screenplay--a prize that was an expected shoo-in for the third and final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But The Return of the King scribes Frances Walsh and Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson will get their chance again at the Academy Awards on Feb. 29, where they are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay along with Pulcini and Berman for American Splendor, Anthony Minghella for Cold Mountain, Brian Helgeland for Mystic River and writer/director Gary Ross for Seabiscuit. The odds, however, are tipped in American Splendor's favor: In the past 12 years, eight Writers Guild of America adapted screenplay winners have gone on to win an Oscar.
Bobby Brown in the Hoosegow
Bobby Brown is back in the Big House. The 35-year-old singer, whose hits include "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step," was being held Saturday without bond at the DeKalb County Jail in Georgia, The Associated Press reports, after being taken into custody for violating his probation on a previous drunken driving conviction. He is expected to remain in custody until a court hearing Friday. According to the AP, the ruling may be related to Brown's charge of misdemeanor battery in December following an argument with his wife, singer Whitney Houston. Brown has been on probation since January 2003, when he was convicted of a 1996 drunken driving incident. He had been ordered to remain on probation until Feb. 17, 2005.
Jackson's Exposure Not a Federal Case
While most American believe Janet Jackson acted in poor taste when she revealed her right breast during the Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 1, only a few think it warrants a federal investigation. An Ipsos Group research poll conducted for the AP found that only 18 percent of those surveyed thought Jackson's exposure was an illegal act, while 54 percent said it was in bad taste. Meanwhile, a fourth of those in the poll said the act was neither in bad taste nor illegal, according to the AP. The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults was taken Feb. 16-18. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
American Idol Reject's Popularity Surges
Despite being unceremoniously booted off the Fox American Idol audition stage a few weeks ago, 21-year-old William Hung has become an instant celebrity. Hung has taken his gotta-see-it-to-believe-it version of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" and turned it into a bizarre quasi-career. Hung, a Southern California native studying at the University of California, Berkeley, tried out for American Idol in San Francisco last September but promptly got the brush-off from judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. But he has since become a hot commodity. After being invited to sing at a Cal volleyball game last week, he received offers from music cabler Fuse and New York-based record company Koch Entertainment for a record contract and music video production deal. Hung also made a recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he performed four songs. Three Web sites devoted to Hung have also gone up on the Internet in the past week, including one that generated 4 million hits in four days.
Ozzy Osbourne Ready To Rock
Though he's recently questioned his ability to perform onstage again, a neck brace-sporting Ozzy Osbourne says he will indeed headline the ninth annual Ozzfest touring festival this summer and denies reports that a team of paramedics and a mobile surgery would be standing by at the side of the stage should anything happen. "Number one, I'm not gonna die; I'm gonna make the tour," Osbourne, 55, said at a news conference Friday. "I'm not dead. I'm ready to rock, man." Osbourne crashed his four-wheel all-terrain vehicle on Dec. 8 at his estate in Buckinghamshire in southern England, leaving him with fractures in eight ribs and a vertebra. He expressed fears earlier this week that he might never perform again. The Ozzfest tour, which will play 26 locations across the United States, begins in Hartford, Conn., July 10 and wraps in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sept. 10.
Shaun Cassidy in Fender Bender
Former teen idol Shaun Cassidy was involved in a Thursday morning car crash that left a Warner Bros. studio security guard with minor leg injury. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Cassidy was driving into the studio when his car struck a vehicle that was stopped at the security gate. That car was then pushed into a third vehicle, trapping guard Conrad Perez between them. Perez was treated at a hospital and released. Cassidy was not cited. Cassidy, who costarred in the TV series The Hardy Boys Mysteries, went on to stage acting and then became a writer and producer for TV shows including American Gothic, The Agency and the current CBS series Cold Case.
Kristin Davis Keeping Charlotte's Wardrobe
Talk about a job with fringe benefits.